1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for manufacturing a customized meter. For example, a data processing unit supplies meter designing data with which a user can design a custom-made combination meter of a vehicle on a display screen. Then, the meter producing data is generated according to the user-designed data. The data processing unit derives meter manufacturing data from meter producing data. The data processing unit supplies said meter manufacturing data to a manufacturer to manufacture a customized combination meter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, there is a watch design creating system such as described in JP-A-11-305650 issue bulletin. (The term “JP-A” as herein means “unexamined published Japanese patent application”) In this system, a user orders a maker to manufacture a watch based on user designed data by downloading designing data of a desirable watch and modifying the designing data to more desirable data on a display screen.
Further, there is a known system such as a support system for determining design specification. This system is described in JP-A-8-30674 issue bulletin. In this system, an owner designs an elevator with a computer interactively. Images of an elevator cage and an elevator door based on the determined design are displayed on a computer screen. While watching the displaying result, the owner modifies to the more desirable design. At last, the owner acquires the most agreeable design.
In a conventional system such as above mentioned, however, it is only possible to change forms or colors of components of a product displayed on a screen by a user's choice and the positions of the components are immovable. It is impossible to manufacture a user's favorite product on the display screen by changing a position or size of each component thereof. That is, the system has a limit for designing the product freely and lacks flexibility. Therefore, if this system is offered to a user, it may not satisfy the user's desires.
Further, even if it is possible to set a size and layout of the components on the display screen, when assembling a manufacture actually, it is necessary to design an entire product according to above constraints. Therefore, there is a problem that manufacturing a large item small volume production of a custom-made combination meter makes the unit price of the product soar and is unprofitable.
Further, in a conventional system, only data of a static design is available for user option. Image data of a product is created based on above user selected data. An actual product is manufactured actually based on design data generated from the image data as above.
However, in the case elements including moving components, the above systems may not be able to satisfy a user with the above design, despite allowing the user to confirm static design on the screen. This is because the user cannot simulate a motion on the screen, when the user wants to confirm his designed motion. Furthermore, because above systems have no means to reflect user designed motion on created image data, there is an inconvenience that the extent of design, which the systems allow to apply, is limited to a static design.